Effect of Adult Nutrition on Longevity and Parasitisation Efficiency of Acerophagus papayae Noyes and Schauff (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae)

Abstract

The role of adult nutrition on longevity, fecundity and male: female ratio was studied in detail for Acerophagus papayae. There was significant difference in the longevity and parasitisation efficiency of the adults fed different diets. Adults of A. papayae fed on 10% and 50% honey lived for 9.00 and 7.33 days and the number of progeny was 50 and 47.8 numbers with female progenies of 41.56 and 36.37 per cent, respectively. The parasitoids fed with yeast extract along with 10% honey and dried grapes extract lived for an average of 6.00 days and 8.00 days and the number of progeny was 51.06 and 54.93 with 38.36 and 37.29 per cent female progenies respectively. The parasitoid fed with fructose lived for 4.00 days and the the number of progeny was 46.6 and percentage of female progenies was 37.16. But, parasitoids fed with water alone lived for 3.33 days and its parasitisation efficiency was 34.6 with 31.35 per cent of female progeny.